48RE and towing

[Fred Swanson]

You'd be suprised of the condition of the thrust washers on the new rear planetary. If you haven't seen one on a failed transmission, you'd never know the difference.

 

[CLAYTON]

I'll check my service receipt to see if they did anything with the thrust washer. I forgort how nice and clean a new transmission shifts compaired to mine that was all burnt up. Can't even imagine what a after market transmission is going to be like Oo.

 

[ropinfool2]

I just towed long distance with mine for the first time and was not impressed by the way the transmission behaved. I left it in overdrive and it would downshift at first but would then upshift halfway up the hill, which of course made the truck fall flat on it's face. I took it in, Dodge transmission tech told me that when the transmission senses fluid temperature rising to a certain point (below the idiot light setpoint) it will shift into OD to try and provide more cooling. While this sounds feasible, I don't know if I believe it. I will be pulling out of OD the next time I experience this. Also a transmission temp gage is on my wish list. John

 

[SnoKing]

I just towed long distance with mine for the first time and was not impressed by the way the transmission behaved. I left it in overdrive and it would downshift at first but would then upshift halfway up the hill, which of course made the truck fall flat on it's face. I took it in, Dodge transmission tech told me that when the transmission senses fluid temperature rising to a certain point (below the idiot light setpoint) it will shift into OD to try and provide more cooling. While this sounds feasible, I don't know if I believe it. I will be pulling out of OD the next time I experience this. Also a transmission temp gage is on my wish list. John

Sounds to me like this wrench has it backwards. It will down shift to third if it gets to hot, not the other way around. Just manually lock it out of OD on hills and power on up the hill. SNOKING

 

[CLAYTON]

Yup... they replaced the "steel thrust washer. "

 

[SnoKing]

Yup... they replaced the "steel thrust washer. "

That begs the question, did they use part # 52854039AA that DTT says corrects the issue, or did they put the same one back in that can cause problems. My guess is that they used the same one that they used the first time. SNOKING

 

[CLAYTON]

I'll check and see if the service receipt has a the part number some where on it.



Alright I checked and this is what I found... So did they put in the right one?

 

[cwsoules]

I tow in OD all the time. I try to maintain 62 mph when towing. My DTT smart box has allowed me to set the shift point to OD to 57 mph when my rpm is at 1800. When in hills I watch the EGT, boost, and mph and try to shift out of OD manually before the smart box down shifts. If I see possible hunting between 3rd and OD I lock out OD.

 

[SnoKing]

I'll check and see if the service receipt has a the part number some where on it.



Alright I checked and this is what I found... So did they put in the right one?

It would appear that DC/or this wrench has learned a thing or two from Bill at DTT, as the part number Bill references is listed on your slip. I am not to sure reading his post on the subject, if other actions are required. SNOKING

 

[SSage]

Sounds to me like this wrench has it backwards. It will down shift to third if it gets to hot, not the other way around. Just manually lock it out of OD on hills and power on up the hill. SNOKING

I would say so too.



When mine downshifts, it stays there longer than I like when towing 5K to 14K. It may be my 4. 10 gears or my 70 mph cruise.



DC probably only makes the improved washer now, I don't see them making two versions of the same thing. But, DC probably used up all the crappy ones first. #@$%!

 

[red-rider]

dumb question

Im going to ask a dumb question, when you guys refer to OD off and OD, you guys are indicating the tow/haul button correct?



I tow my trailer without the tow/haul lit up in my dash, I only kick it on when Im climbing hills, or when my truck is bogging. Now what Im asking is, should I be towing with the the two/haul lit up in my dash, or just driving normal and just kicking it on on hills and when it bogs, ok?



I hear alot of guys talking about torque converters also, now if I wanted to beef up my transmission, what would you guys suggest on a 48RE, now is the torque converter the only thing to do, or, is there something else that has to be done to work coherently with it?



But for now Im just curious about the tow/haul button, I really dont want to screw my transmission up yet.

 

[CLAYTON]

The OD button was on the 03 trucks and I believe that they changed the wording on the 04's. When the OD or Tow/Haul light is on means that you are taking it out of 4th gear or overdrive. Anytime your RPMs fall below 1800 or so its a good idea to push you Tow/Haul (take it out of 4th gear) to get the RPMs back up. I learned the hard way and killed my 48re.



Upgrades for the transmission:



Usually when you do the torque converter you will want to do the valve body too. Unless you start running a lot of juice through your trans then that's all you'll need. If you increase your HP then you might want to have your whole transmission gone through and upgraded. This is the route that I'm going to go. I just want a bullet proof transmission... is that too much to ask for?

 

[cwsoules]

Red Rider

Check turbodieselregister.com for info on DTT modifications. The upgraded my transmission and my smart box allows me to control the shift points. My truck is an older model than yours but I know DTT has help available. Call Bill K at DTT and he will answer all of your questions. He has helped me by cell phone while I checked out my truck to ensure I understood what I should be looking at.

 

[TDovi]

I recently had my whole transmission replaced and the service manager told me to never tow in over drive. Does anybody here tow in over drive? If I start to bog down i'll kick it out of OD but I don't see any reason to not have it in 4th on a flat road with RPMs over 2000. He said the 4th gear was not designed to tow. I'm sure there is some truth to this but I like to hear what you have to say.

I have an '03 3500 with the auto and 3. 73 gears. I tow a 13,200# 5th wheel. We have towed it about 10,000 miles and have had no problem with using overdrive. Even in the summer heat I rarely ever see over 180 degrees on the trans. temp. gauge. I do shift down manually on almost any hill. Waiting for the transmission to shift seems to lug the engine before it decides to actually shift. As someone else said, your 315 tires being larger in diameter than factory original will have the effect of lowering your gear ratio. This may cause lugging more often than normal.

 

[SSage]

I thought the newer 48REs with the Tow / Haul mode do not lock out OD. It just changes the shift points like the early GM Allison 1000's.

 

[CLAYTON]

Well I finally got my a complete Suncoast transmission with all the goodies. It shifts so nice just driving around town and on the freeway. I am excited to tow this weekend. I'll let you all know how it goes. It will be nice to know that I'm not slipping the transmission when I run a little extra juice through it.